


Memory Knoll

by miizure



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: M/M, Post-Miracle Mask, its just soft gay stuff, what more can i say?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:40:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25111762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miizure/pseuds/miizure
Summary: Hershel brings Randall out to a place neither of them had been to in quite some time to be alone with each other.
Relationships: Randall Ascot/Hershel Layton
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	Memory Knoll

“Hershel, just where are you taking me?” Randall sits in the passenger seat of the car, eyes covered by his own old scarf he typically wore around his neck back in the day. It wasn’t like him to surprise people, but now that he had the time, he simply _had_ to do this. Even if a lot has changed.

The Laytonmobile came to a slow stop, then, without removing the blindfold, Hershel helps Randall out and quietly guided him along an invisible path, shrouded by darkness. It’s very quiet, wherever they are. And a lot colder than Monte d’Or. There are crickets chirping all around him, and cicadas humming inside distant trees. Wherever they were must be close to nature. It’d been so long since he heard this… Not since he left for the city.

“Watch your step,” Hershel says calmly, helping him avoid a fallen tree branch. The sound of running water can be heard faintly, growing ever closer. For a moment, it felt almost nostalgic. Being near a river or stream of any sort reminded him of his childhood; he could almost feel himself de-aging to a young, energetic child again and jumping right into the water, burying his hands in the muddy soil and unearthing numerous rocks and shiny objects lost and found beneath the surface.

At some point, he could sense the stream was right in front of him and stopped moving as if on cue. Hershel noticed him tensing up and gave him a reassuring pat on the back. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you cross.”

“I just want to see where I’m going!” He whines, feeling a hand nudge his leg forward. In a few clumsy movements, he was on the other side, and continuing to walk down the path, the sounds from the stream behind him and fading. “Are we there yet?”

“Almost.”

Wind circled them, carrying a cool breeze from the mountaintops. Wherever they were was in the open, like a grass field of some sort. He could also feel the ground slowly elevating as they walked up some sort of hill.

Finally, Hershel stops moving and steps behind him, preparing to remove his blindfold. 

“All right, I’m sorry for making you wait so long. Are you ready?”

“About damn time!” Randall curses, causing Hershel to snicker behind him. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

* * *

The scarf was slowly lowered from his eyes, and now that he was able to see around him, his eyes widened at the sight.

They were standing in the middle of a field, like he’d thought, but in front of them was a single tree, left unharmed after centuries of growing and thriving. A tree that saw many meetings, many naps in the shade, many solitary moments spent alone and full of tears…

Memory Knoll.

“We… We’re in Stansbury.” Randall whispers, glancing up to the night sky above. Millions of stars glittered overhead, left unseen after being hidden by city lights for so long. It filled him with an overwhelming amount of emotions, ones that brought on happiness, sadness, pain…

But Hershel brought them here to be alone for a reason.

“Come on,” he gestures to sit under the tree with him. Randall slowly walks forward and places his hand on the trunk, the familiar grooves in its bark slipping between his fingers. He lowers himself to the ground and shyly brings his knees close to his chest, a rare act from him. Randall was anything _but_ shy. Upon leaning in closer, Hershel could see he was attempting to hide a quickly forming blush in the dim natural light.

“Do you know why I brought you here?” He asks, moving in closer so that their sides lightly pressed against each other. Randall stifles a small laugh and looks at him, amused by how forward Hershel was being. This wasn’t like him, either. _Especially_ now. When he thought about it, Stansbury was mostly abandoned at this point. No one lived here anymore. There was no one to hide from down the road anymore. It truly was just the two of them sitting under a tree they spent many days and nights beneath.

“Well…” Randall begins searching his memories for an answer. There were tons of reasons to be brought out here, but the one memory that stood out the most was one night, just like this one, where they lie under the stars together and pointed out constellations, commenting on the ones that glowed brightest in the sky. He recalled pointing out the brightest star that night, telling Hershel that no matter what happened to him, that one star would always be in the sky to remember him with. Of course, Hershel didn’t believe anything would happen, but promised to always associate that star with him.

How sadly ironic that had become.

“The star… It’s up there, right? It never went away…”

“And neither did you.”

That was enough to make Randall inhale sharply in surprise. The gears in his head were slowly turning. The significance of being brought here… A memory left forgotten for so long… Only to resurface once he’d come face to face with Hershel again.

“I remember now…” He murmurs. Hershel turns to look at him expectantly, smiling ever so softly. “We… I didn’t think much of it at the time, but… I kissed you here, didn’t I?”

He nods slowly.

“I’d kissed Angela before, but only around my father. He never knew that my feelings then… weren’t genuine. Angela was willing to cover for me, and she and Henry both helped me as I learned to accept my preferences. It was that night that I finally… I finally kissed a boy.”

“And that boy was me.” Hershel said, leaning back against the base of the tree. “I didn’t think I was capable of falling in love at the time, or if I’d ever find the right one for me. It came to me as a shock that night, but it felt surprisingly… natural. I didn’t reject the feeling at all, no. Rather, it was… mutual.”

Randall suddenly looks away, drifting his attention back to the present.

“You don’t hate me, do you? For what I’ve done? I understand if you’re mad at me, Hershel. I did something awful, and I still can’t bring myself to forgiveness so easily. I hurt a lot of people, and I could have hurt you, too. So, really, I get it if you--”

Hershel sighs and places a hand on Randall’s cheek, turning his head to face him again, but now pulled him forward close enough to feel their lips brush against each other in a silent kiss that spoke louder than any possible argument Randall could have.

"H-Hershel?!" Randall backs away in surprise, heart racing. "I-I didn't think you were so forward!"

Hershel grins and pulls the brim of his hat over his eyes. He made no attempt to hide the bright red warmth that had crept across his face. "Ah… I suppose I got carried away."

"I'll take it that you don't hate me then," the redhead laughs, placing a hand over his chest to feel his rapidly beating heart. "It's… It's been a long time since I've felt like this. When I lived in the village, romance was of no importance to me. It hadn't even crossed my mind that I was once in love so long ago."

While it was true that Descole led him to believe that he was in love with Angela, Hershel had an inkling that he somehow knew the truth. Perhaps it was all a ploy to get them back together…? Oh, no. What an absurd thought. It didn't take long for Randall to remember that he didn't actually have feelings for the girl. All he needed was a quick sit-down and the memories slammed right back into him. Now, Hershel had been making the time to visit regularly, enjoying Randall's company and occasionally slipping out the faintest flirtatious suggestion (which came as a shock to _everyone_ in the Ledore estate,) just to subtly remind him who his heart belonged to. Only now were they finally able to express those long-suppressed feelings to each other.

"Hershel, hey." Randall leans in close, so close that his breath lightly ghosted Hershel's upper lip. "I wanna tell you something. Something I wanted to tell you 18 years ago, but never had the chance to."

A gentle breeze rustles the leaves above them, creating a picturesque atmosphere for this moment.

"I feel like I already know what you're about to say."

The redhead snickers and wraps his arms around the other man, holding him close in a tight embrace, then, using the back of his hand, gently nudged Hershel's head forward until their lips met for a second time that night, this time for much, much longer. Their hands drifted down and intertwined their fingers, with Randall squeezing tight just to show how badly he needed to show his affection. Hershel let himself be moved in whatever way the man wished, but didn't dare move his head away.

"Seems I was right," he finally says after Randall removed himself, but was now slowly creeping onto his lap with an intriguing light in his eyes. Looks like it was his turn to be the more forward one.

"Well, I'm gonna say it anyway--"

"I love you too, Randall."

"Wh- Hey! Dammit, you stole my thunder…"

**Author's Note:**

> ya girl still out here bein the ceo of ranlay and makin content babey !!!!!  
> twitter: [@reIicuum](http://twitter.com/reiicuum)


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